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[dserrell]

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[Craig Weis]

Yes a West Wight Potter 15 or it's bigger sibs are OK boats. [I'd take a Mongomery 15 first]

Nothing really too shabby about the construction or how well the West Wight potters sail. Several of the West Wight Potters ply the waters of Sturgeon Bay and near shore Lake Michigan.

"Doesn't displacement have some correlation to stability and seaworthiness?" Yes big time! You can sail in a cork and loose your cookies or you can sail in a boat and keep your cookies.

[Reminds me of a joke: "What is the bathing suit of the future for daring females? Two band-aids and a cork".]

I tend to think of these vessels as being a wee bit tender and a tad less stable being faster to heel over. With little doubt I'll bet the Potters sail faster in a light breeze and this make them more 'family orientated' for a fun day on the water. Don't want the kids to be board on a near windless day and the boat just not going...

Small Craft Adviser really publicized the heck out of them and being so exclusive to this mark is one reason why I no longer subscribe to this magazine. Nothing new. SCA did run a story about one sailor sailing his WWP 15 [?] or 19 [?] to Hawaii. One way trip. Back to California on a freighter. So this WWP 15 pictured must be good enough.

15' West Wight Potter
displacement 475#
including a 80# keel -------->



skip.

[brackish]

To use this calculator, plug in the two boats and compare.  In particular look at capsize ratio and motion comfort.  Know which one I want to be on in heavy weather.

http://www.image-ination.com/sailcalc.html

Frank

[newt]

When does a sailboat become a dingy? I feel these boats really cut the line fine. Almost bought one, but got a laser first. Glad I did, but will never go back to a dingy on open water. In the bay or getting to shore- sure, but open water requires a sailboat. The WWP's,  particularly the 15, are dingies.

[Craig Weis]

fo48 Good call and found the links very entertaining. Yes why have scuppers in the cockpit and a water fountain inside the cabin via the centerboard trunk. Although with only an 80 pound centerboard perhaps she'll wallow around when flooded but once the body is cold, no amount of hot toddy for the body will help. Good posts guys. All of you. Thanx.
skip.

[nies]

David, just a thought, if the water level outside of bathtub is the same as inside the tub ,I do not think the tub will drain....probably wrong. Your tub experiment was great science.......Phil

[romei]

Basically, this is the age old question.  Does size really matter?  And it brings to mind the best answer I ever heard from that question. 

It was at a bar, and the bartender's name was Leeanne.  Leeanne is a very pretty blond and built about like Dolly Parton.  Anyway, two guys at the bar were having that discussion, does size matter, or does it depend on the motion in the ocean etc...and all the sexual innuendos that you have heard before and can imagine.   Finally one of those brave sailors asked Leeanne what she thought and she said...

Well boys, when the storm rolls in I'd rather be on a yacht than a dinghy"


And that pretty much ended that discussion  :-D

[Shawn]

"By the way, this month's "Small Craft Adviser" magazine has another Potter article very similar to the one about the fellow who went aground in the Texas 200."

There was another a few months before the article about the Texas 200 as well. A 15 was swamped and turtled. Every time it was righted it just kept going and turtled again. It had to be left underwater overnight as it couldn't be rescued on its own. Same problem there that the centerboard trunk opening is below the waterline when swamped so it is very difficult to self rescue.

Shawn

[Bob23]

   I've never owned a 16 but instead own her big sister, the 23. I don't particulary care for the Potters (personal preference) but, that being said- in last months and this months"Messing About in Boats" there is a continuing story about a skipper who sailed his Potter 19 from Little Egg Harbor, NJ (a few miles from my home port) to the Bahamas. In the latest installement of the story, he is still there...can't wait to read the rest. Apparently this guy didn't focus on the limitations but the opportunities that awaited him. He seemed to know the P19 well and knew what she could and couldn't do. Great story, well written..man am I jealous! I might try to track him down- sounds like a great guy to get to know.
   Me,. I like a keel below me for stability. That being said also, Joshua Slocums "Spray" relied more on form stability than ballast for seaworthiness...she was 14 feet wide, if I'm not mistaken. She took him around the world and then some. 
Bob23

[HideAway]

I can tell you that we once had HideAway, our 23 filled with sea water almost to the settee cushions - all lockers flooded stem to stern.  We were loaded for a three day cruise at the time and were a couple of miles off shore.    There was no noticeable change in how the boat handled.   We pumped her out with a electric bilge pump rerouted through the cockpit in about 45 minutes since it was that through hull that broke.

There is no way in the world I would go off shore in a boat with an open center board!  Compacs Rule!  Matt

[Craig Weis]

Scupper pipes an inch and a quarter? Times two. That's 1.25" x 32 fpm = That's 40 gallons a minute X 2 = 80 gallons out the scuppers per minute. So the cockpit is L x W x Ht x 7.48 gallons per cubic foot = Gallons in flooded cockpit x 8.33 lb per gallons = weight of water in cockpit, vs weight of boat, or x % of boats weight. Cool. So at 80 gallons a minute how long before the cockpit drains? Or how long before the flooded cockpit gets pooped agin by another wave? This is where GOOD SEAMANSHIP comes in to play.

And she still floats, kind of.... LOL skip.

[newt]

It should be noted, in all honesty, that a factory spec Compac is not a good bluewater boat, and probably only a marginal coastwise cruiser. I think we all know this. When my CP-23 was turned on her side by a 60 kt gust, she leaked water inside. But I think the difference being talked about here is  that once I rolled in the jib all the way and brought down the main, she popped back up on her feet and was ready for action.
BTW, with very little modification, I am making the cabin watertight. Just a little sealent here and there, and replacement of the sink hose (and a thru-hull)

[Craig Weis]

I gasketed but did not hasp 'cause I'm leary of cutting my legs on the hasps. Gaskets are for quiet and no vibration when motoring. I figure if the water rolls to the settee hatch covers I'm in deep do do anyway.
skip.

[newt]

That is a great idea David- I also like where you put the cooler.  Yeah skip- water came into my cockpit from the side when she was blown down, but for some reason the locker hatches did not open. I think we had the cushions on them.

[Bob23]

Frank:
   I read that article and found it most helpful. In the following issue I was dismayed to find that because of that article, International Marine was pulling thier full page front inside ad. Seems that the article was misconstrued by some folks at IM as an insinuation that the Potter was to blame for the capsizing. Like little babies, they took thier toys and went home.
  Now, Roger Crawfords beautiful Melonseed Skiff graces that spot. I love the Melonseed more anyway. And Roger is a great guy.
   Newt: My lazarete lockers don't have gaskets on 'em yet but it looks like a great idea. The hasps are a must because not everyone is as honest as us Compactors.
   More than that, the lazerettes are not sealed completely from the cabin area! At least not on my 1985. Sticking my head down in one shows that the plywood does not go all the way to the top of the underside of the sidedeck. If a lazerette should flood, water will find it's way to the cabin...not good. I believe, other than that big old iceberg, this is what did the Titanic in. And bad metalurgy. And a too proud captain. And bad navigating. (You get the idea).
   Dave Martin, in preparing his second ship for ocean voyaging with his family, sealed off all openings in the cockpit and made it as small as possible, knowing that it would flood eventually. Large drains were installed - 2 inch, me thinks, to get rid of that bad water. It was in an older article in "Good Old Boat". I should really organize these old magazines of mine.
Bob23